The Evolution of the Blue Spirit
by watercrab
Summary: The past, the present, and the future of the Blue Spirit.


**Had this little story tumbling around in my brain. It's a companion to my next story. Also it is set about a couple of months after Happy Birthday! I'm beginning to lean towards writing a story about the childern since I left some ideas in this one.**

**Enjoy & Review!**

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_The Blue Spirit protected the weak and the helpless. Fight the rich and the powerful. Defend the innocent and punish the criminals. How the peasants saw him, the hero. How the nobles saw him, the enemy. _

He sprang over the wall with grace of an acrobat. It was a successful mission. He had received word that a bunch of soldiers of the Fire Nation were causing problems. The actions that those soldiers made disgusted him. No one should oppress the weak in that way. So naturally he did what he believed what was right and that was sneaking into the barracks and returning the stolen goods to the rightful owners. He also gave the victims extra money that was stolen from the higher ranking officers. He smiled as he sprinted across the courtyard. Tonight was a good night.

He vaulted over the balcony and rolled to his knees without making a sound. He tiptoed across his room and opened the door slightly. Gold eyes peered through the blue mask as he scanned the hallway. No one was around or awake. He also noticed that there was no light coming from his uncle's room. A smile spread behind the mask.

_Good,_ he thought as he closed the door. _The last thing I want is Uncle knowing. My head would be on a platter if he found out._

He only lit the candle that was next to his bed. The small flame created large shadows in the room. Shadows of furniture danced across the walls like it was moving to a waltz. It looked peaceful, almost friendly. The only frightening thing was how the small candle created the shadow of the Blue Spirit. The shadow looked evil, almost possessed.

Used to the effect of the shadows, he walked to the wardrobe and pulled the doors opened. Dropping to his knees he pulled out the false panel that was on the bottom of the wardrobe. He took off his mask and gently laid it down. His fingers gently follow the opening of the mouth and gave a loud sigh. The Blue Spirit made him free, made him feel that he was doing something important. He replaced the panel and shut the doors.

He carefully returned his Dao swords to the wall. He loved that particular weapon. It was an extension of him. When he swung the blades, it was like he was bending the weapon. They moved freely and dangerously. The swords make him forget that he was a bender.

"Why are you dressed in black Lu?"

The small voice startled Prince Lu Ten out of his thoughts. He quickly turned around to see the owner of the voice. Standing near the door was his young cousin. His black hair was a mess and he was rubbing his eyes. A big yawn came out of his mouth.

"Zuko!" Lu Ten whispered loudly as he prayed that his cousin did not see anything. "Why are you up?"

"I had a nightmare," Zuko whispered as he looked to the floor. Lu Ten smiled as he watched his cousin played with the marble with his toe. "And I couldn't sleep."

"You want to stay here?" Lu Ten offered as he pointed to the large bed.

Zuko's amber eyes lit up at the offer. He ran to the bed and jump on it. He tunneled his way into the covers and peek his head out. Lu Ten gave a chuckle as he headed to the washroom. He adored his little cousin and would do anything to protect him. Lu Ten quickly changed into his night clothes and climbed into bed. He stacked his pillows before he put his head down. Zuko rolled over and stared at his cousin.

"You didn't answer my question," Zuko yawned.

"I was training," Lu Ten lied. "A good soldier must be able to move without making a sound."

"Can you teach me?"

"Of course," Lu Ten smiled. He thought about what the Oracle said about Zuko. His poor cousin will go through many hardships before he can find peace and there was nothing that Lu Ten could do. That did not stop him from teaching his cousin to protect himself. "I'll also show you how to use the Dao swords."

"Cool," Zuko said as his eyes began to droop.

"What was your nightmare about?"

"I was going to get eaten by a blue dragon," Zuko replied in a sleepy voice. "Then out of nowhere a gold dragon with a scar on its face saved me."

"That doesn't sound like a nightmare."

"The dragons' where scary."

A soft snore told Lu Ten that Zuko was asleep. Giving a yawn himself, Lu Ten put out the flame with a flick of his wrist. He placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He had another reason why he should keep being the Blue Spirit. If he could not see peace in his future, he would make sure that his cousin's future would have peace.

_

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__The Blue Spirit was the hunter. His prey was the criminals. It did not matter if the person was rich or poor, peasant or noble, or man or women. If you violated the balance of the world, then the Blue Spirit would punish you. He was the judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one and he did not show mercy._

The full moon made Ba Sing Se glow and it was the only light that the Blue Spirit needed. He did not make any noise as he ran on the roof. The roof dipped steeply and he slid down the slope with grace of an airbender. He launched himself off the roof and once his feet touched the ground, he kept on running. He darted through alleys and climbed over merchants' stalls. He scaled up a wall like an earthbender and flipped himself over the railing. He gave a sigh of relief; he made it back to the suite without getting caught. He dropped his swords on the floor and slumped into the chair. He began to think about his mission.

His mission was a dangerous one. He had received word about a possible assignation on the Earth King. He knew that the death of the gentle King would cause havoc in the Earth Kingdom and the possibility of another war. He knew that he have to find more information about it and put an end to it quickly. It took a matter of hours to find the group that was planning the assignation. His judgment was death and the Dao swords swung through each plotter. The swords were the weapons of the devil. He only kept one alive. The survivor was a teenager, barely fourteen. He pinned the child to the wall. The boy was frighten by the Blue Spirit and quickly agreed to the offer that was given. The boy would tell the guards about the plan, the group, and who killed the men. If the child failed to do this, then he would be seeing his dead comrades very soon.

He tossed the mask on the desk. He did not want to threaten the teenager but it had to be done. He removed the tie that was holding his hair back. Running his fingers through his long black hair, he wondered if he could keep doing this. Once upon a time, the Blue Spirit gave him the freedom that he never experienced. Now it was becoming a burden.

"Zuko?"

Zuko rose his head up and stared at the person that had spoken. Standing in the study was his beloved wife, Katara. Her long brown hair was pulled into a braid and her body was wrapped in a blue silk robe. She walked up to her husband and he let her fall into his lap. His arms wrapped around her and his hands gently touched her large belly. He felt a small kick and he had to smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Katara asked as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"No," Zuko said quickly. He knew that Katara frowned at his quick harsh answer. He changed the subject. "You should be asleep. We have a conference with the Earth King tomorrow."

"Couldn't sleep," Katara answered as she let her fingers twist around a strand of hair. "I was worried about you," a sly smile appeared on her face. "Plus it's a full moon."

"I see," Zuko replied as he placed a kissed on her temple. "This was my last mission," he felt Katara leaned more into his body. He did not know that she was more tensed than she let on.

"I'm happy," Katara said with relief. "You shouldn't be doing this. You have a family to think about," her hand laced with his hand when she said that sentence. "Let's go to bed."

She stood up and Zuko quickly followed. The large suite that the Earth King gave them had many rooms and their bedroom was located in the back. Katara stopped at the door and turned to Zuko.

"I have to tell you something," Katara said with a smirk. Zuko could not help raising his eyebrow. "There is someone else in my bed. I hope you don't mind."

"Lee's having nightmares again?" Zuko asked referring to their first child. The poor toddler has been plagued with nightmares in the recent weeks.

"Yes," Katara said sadly. "He finally told me what they are about."

"What are they?"

"He keeps talking about dragons, especially about a gold one with a scar. Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"No clue."

The couple entered the bed chamber. Zuko could see his son sprawled out in the middle of the bed. Loud snores came out of the child's mouth. Zuko entered the washroom and quickly changed into his night clothes. Before he climbed into bed, he glanced at his growing family. His reason why he should stop being the Blue Spirit was sleeping in front of him.

_

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__When the world began to fall out of balance and justice is starting to favor the wrong, the Blue Spirit would return. He would become the hunter and the protector. He would never choose a side but be a rouge ally. He would not trust anyone but everyone had to trust him. He is the balance between good and evil._

He ran across the water like a skilled waterbender. He jumped over the wall with ease and was able to pull himself up over the railing. He was proud of himself that he was not caught. It was the first night that he became the Blue Spirit and he was quite happy with the results. As the Blue Spirit, he felt like a completely different person. He walked towards his bed and pulled out a box underneath it. He removed the mask and placed it in the box. His thoughts traveled to his adventure.

He was jumping from roof to roof until he lost his balance. He tumbled to the ground and landed in front of the last group of people that he wanted to see. Luckily he had his mask on, so they did not recognize him. But they knew about the Blue Spirit and they attacked him. He dodged a couple of fireballs, jumped away from a couple of water whips, rolled away from a tornado, and blocked a boomerang. He tried to run away from them but the group chased him down. They thought they had him cornered but he managed to disappear. He heard the cursing and saw the finger pointing from the perched he was kneeling on.

The smirk appeared on his face as he pushed the box back underneath his bed. No one will ever know his dirty little secret. He was about to change into his sleep clothes when his room unexpectedly lit up. He jumped into a fighting stance and pulled water out of a vase. He heard clapping from the far corner of his room and quickly threw ice daggers at the sound. A fireball appeared and the daggers quickly turned to steam.

"Roku."

"Dad!"

Leaning against the wall in the far corner was Fire Lord Zuko. His amber eyes bore into his youngest son. The boy gave a meek smile as his hand rubbed the back of his head. Roku's eyes diverted from his father's gaze and noticed that he was wearing black, just like him.

"Why are you dressed in black?" Roku asked as he tried to make his father talk. Having him talking was better than having him silent.

"Following you," Zuko's voice was short and quiet. Roku flinched. His father talking in a quiet voice means that he was dead on the spot. "The question is why are _you_ dressed in black," it was not a question because Zuko already knew the answer.

Zuko knew that glaring at his son was not the answer but he was furious. Furious that his son found that mask, furious that his son was willing to become that person, and most of all he was furious that he was scared for him.

Giving a loud sigh, Zuko strode to a chair and sat down. Roku took it as a cue that he can relax and he took his seat on his bed. Zuko pressed his fingers to his lips as he thought about the situation that was presented to him.

"I know you are having a tough time with things going on right now," Zuko said in a quiet voice. Roku lifted his head up and stared at his father. "You are feeling that you have no purpose. Lee will be the Fire Lord one day and Lu Ten is the Avatar. But putting on the mask will not give you purpose."

"Dad," Roku said making sure his voice matched his father's. "I know who I am. I'm Prince Roku of the Fire Nation, a southern Water Tribe waterbender, and one day a master waterbender. But that is not the reason why I put on the mask."

"Enlighten me."

"When I wear the mask," Roku started as he tried to get his feelings together. "I feel that I can do something that my title or my bending cannot do. I feel that I'm protecting something and I like that feeling."

Zuko did not say anything at first. He thought about what he son just said. He had that feeling once and he enjoyed that feeling. He remembered how he felt like he was free from the world before the missions made him like a prisoner. With a decision made, Zuko stood up and walked over to Roku. He placed a hand on his shoulder. Roku looked up and stared at him with his big amber eyes.

"You make a lot of noise," Zuko started as he stared at Roku. "If you are going to be the Blue Spirit, then you have to be a lot quieter," Roku open his mouth to speak but Zuko cut him off. "I'll be training you. Also you will be learning how to use the Dao swords. The Blue Spirit should not rely on his bending."

"Thanks Dad."

"One more thing," Zuko said as a crooked smile appeared on his face. "Your mother cannot know about this. I will be a dead man if she found out that I've been training you."

Roku gave a big grin and gave Zuko a hug. Zuko smiled back and patted his son's head. He wished him a good night and headed to the door. Before leaving the room, he stopped and glanced at Roku.

"Don't worry about your brothers, your cousins, and Hermes. They are in big trouble for sneaking out of the Palace. Plus your brothers' stances were pretty weak."

Roku gave a laugh as he watched Zuko leave the room. He quickly changed clothes and crawled into bed. The flames where slowly dying as Roku stared at the ceiling. His father was going to train him to become the Blue Spirit. He was going to be the protector of the weak and helpless. He was going to fight the ruthless. Most of all, he was going to keep the world in balance. That was the reason why he chose to be the Blue Spirit.


End file.
